


The Hope of it All

by Marie_Chambers



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Endgame Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Falling In Love, Marinette Has Some Stuff to Work Through, One-Sided Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-07-30
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:21:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25571995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marie_Chambers/pseuds/Marie_Chambers
Summary: “Wait,” Luka says. “Wait Ladybug.”She turns to him, his stricken expression staring back at her. This was all her fault and she wasn’t sure how in the world she was ever going to be able to fix it. “Don’t-“ He chokes a little as if the words are difficult to get out. “Don’t tell Marinette. Please.”This, Marinette thinks, is what Tikki had meant when she’d said that this was all going to lead to misunderstandings.
Relationships: Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 14
Kudos: 179





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story is going to be 3 parts and is already completely written so the rest will be posted over the next few days. Enjoy~

“What’s wrong, Marinette?” Tikki asks, wringing her tiny hands together. Marinette continues pacing back and forth vigorously, her eyes glancing briefly at the clock on the wall to register that it is already two in the morning.

“I’m just-I’m just not sure what to do,” she groans, scrubbing her hands roughly down her face in agitation.

“About Adrien?” Tikki queries and then at the look on Marinette’s face, “Or about Luka?”

Marinette bites her lip hard and squeezes her eyes shut. “There’s something wrong with me, Tikki. I’m an awful person aren’t I?”

Tikki zips close to her face. “Oh Marinette,” she coos, reassuringly. “You’re not an awful person for feeling confused.”

Marinette glances at the photos hanging on the walls. Adrien’s perfect smiling face looking back at her. What kind of love did she even feel for him, if attention from one other boy could make her feel like this?

“I’ve never,” Marinette starts shakily, tearing her eyes away from the photos to focus back on her kwami. “I’ve never had a boy confess to me like that. What Luka said, it was like he really thought I was special. I’ve-I’ve never felt _wanted_ like that before.” Sighing deeply, Marinette flops onto her bed facedown. “I really like feeling like that,” she admits into her pillow.

Tikki pats Marinette’s head reassuringly. “There’s nothing wrong with that, Marinette. Let yourself feel how you feel without guilt.”

Marinette turns her head on her pillow, flipping over to her side as she blows loose hair out of her face. “What if it’s just the feeling that I like, though? I’ve always loved Adrien. What if I end up hurting Luka? Do you think he’s waiting for an answer from me? I can’t expect him to wait around forever, but I also-I don’t want him to stop either. See…how selfish of me is that?”

Tikki smiles sympathetically. “I think these are all things you have to talk to Luka about. If you want to be fair to him.”

Marinette’s face turns red at just the thought of voicing any of these concerns directly to Luka. To face both their feelings head on so blatantly. To possibly hurt him. To possibly get him to stop feeling about her the way he did. Marinette groans.

“I don’t know if I can do it Tikki. I really don’t know if I can.”

“You’re the bravest person I know, Marinette. You can do it.”

“I’m not brave. Not like Ladybug is-“ Marinette’s eyes go wide and she bolts upright in bed. “That’s it.”

“Marinette,” Tikki says gently, already having a bad feeling about where this is going.

“Don’t you see Tikki, I can’t talk to him as Marinette. I just can’t. But I could do it as Ladybug. If I could just maybe understand his feelings a bit better, I think I could sort out mine.”

Tikki shakes her head. “I don’t think this is a good idea,” she says anxiously. “It might lead to more misunderstandings in the end. Using a miraculous for personal reasons always has consequences.”

But Marinette knows she’s already decided. Her heart beats hard in her chest at the thought of that feeling again. The one Luka had ignited in her when he’d called her the voice inside his head. His melody. She wants to feel it again. She _needs_ to feel it again but in a way that won’t hurt him. At least until she can figure out what to do about her own confusing feelings. It’s terribly selfish, but she needs this.

“Marinette-” Tikki tries one more time, pleadingly.

But the words, “Spots on, Tikki,” are already coming out of her mouth.

* * *

The Liberty is gently swaying in its docked position, the water lapping around the sides. No lights are on and Ladybug’s stomach lurches as she lands soundlessly on the deck.

A feeling of dread creeps up inside her and she wonders what she is even doing here. Exploiting Luka’s feelings for her own benefit? What kind of superhero did something like that?

Tikki had been right when she said this was a bad idea.

A light goes on inside the boat, interrupting her internal dilemma and causing her to reel backwards into a box in her surprise. Squeaking she scrambles her arms trying to keep herself up which only proves to set her more off balance. Careening, she lands with a hard smack on her side, tipping over several boxes as she goes, random items spilling out onto the deck in a loud cacophony. She groans miserably into the silence that follows and thanks her lucky stars she is in her Ladybug suit, otherwise she would have a nasty bruise forming right about now.

“Who’s there?” A familiar voice calls out. Then another light flicks on, illuminating the deck. Ladybug looks up and meets Luka’s eyes.

“Ladybug?” he says, eyebrows furrowing together. In his hand he holds a glass of water, his chipping black nail polish stark against the glass. His hair is mussed from sleep and he is only wearing a t-shirt and boxers.

“Shit,” she hisses under her breath, face going red.

“Is everything okay, Ladybug?” He tries again, looking concerned and moving towards her slowly like she might spook at any moment. “What are you doing here? Is there an akuma?”

Ladybug scrambles to her feet, already reaching for her yo-yo. “No-no, no akuma,” she says, laughing nervously. “Just-just was a bit clumsy is all…Sorry to have bothered-“

She trails off, her eyes going wide at the soft look on Luka’s face. He smiles at her gently; so very reminiscent of the look he’d given when he’d confessed his feelings to Marinette. Her knees go weak and she wonders if her transformation has dropped somehow without her even realizing it.

Her hand pauses at her yo-yo, as that addictive feeling of being genuinely _liked_ by someone blooms in her chest. Her entire face turns pink and she has to look away.

“I have a friend who can be a bit clumsy sometimes,” Luka says fondly. “So, it’s alright.”

Ladybug has no doubts that he is talking about Marinette, what with the affectionate look on his face. All thoughts of this being a bad idea scatter in her brain as her heart starts thumping quite erratically. She feels nervous and eager and scared and excited all in a tantalizing mixture that she knows she won’t be able to get enough of. This isn’t like when she can’t string two sentences together with Adrien. This feels different. _She_ is the one being chased, not doing the chasing.

Luka is still smiling at her frozen form. Ladybug slowly lets her hand drop as she takes a deep breath, remembering that she is Ladybug right now. She is confident and she can flirt if she wants to with no repercussions.

“A friend huh?” she says teasingly, cocking her hip and raising her eyebrow suggestively.

Luka sputters and turns slightly pink as his eyes seem to, without his permission, trace down her form. “I-that is-“ he tries to say and then he huffs a little. “She’s a friend, yes,” he sighs, “but perhaps I’ve been too transparent that I’d like to be more to her than that.”

He sits down suddenly, setting the water beside him as he crosses his legs and shakes his head. Ladybug can’t decide if the pang she feels in her chest is guilt from hearing this without him knowing it is _Marinette_ that he’s confessing it to or because she doesn’t like that he feels regretful for being honest about his feelings.

Walking over to him, Ladybug sits down and puts a gentle hand on his shoulder. “I’m sure she appreciates your transparency, Luka.”

“Maybe so. I guess I just worry that I made her uncomfortable.” Luka says, rolling his neck slightly to smile over at her. “I hope she knows that wasn’t my intention.”

The smile on his lips shoots straight through her. The sincerity and importance of his words making her feel like she’s floating.

She squeezes his shoulder and moves her hand back to her lap. “I’m sure she does know that.” Ladybug reassures him. “She must be pretty special.”

That starry eyed gaze. The half-bitten lip and shy chuckle that falls uncontrollably from his distracting mouth. The way he nervously messes with his hands as if he is itching to have his guitar. It all makes her feel hot inside in a way that she can hardly stand.

“Yeah, she’s something else,” he admits. “You know her, actually. Marinette. She alerted you about the akuma here? Captain Hardrock.”

Ladybug smiles encouragingly, letting on that she follows without giving too much away.

“Brave and beautiful and kind, isn’t she?” he says, his eyes suddenly finding hers with a certain conviction to them. Her heart stops and migrates to her throat. She tries to speak, but can’t get the words out, only manages a weak nod in response. This seems enough to appease Luka who settles a hand down to prop himself up so he can crane his neck back and gaze at the stars.

“Well, what did she say,” Ladybug cautions to ask after a few long moments of silence. “If you were transparent about your feelings, what was her response?”

Luka turns solemn and shrugs slightly. “I’m not really sure, I didn’t really give her much time to say anything to be honest. I didn’t want her to feel pressured to say something back. That-that wasn’t why I told her.”

Ladybug turns to him sharply in surprise. Her shock just a little too genuine. “That-that wasn’t why?” she asks.

If her increasing interest in the conversation surprises Luka he doesn’t let on. “No,” he admits. “I just think she deserves to know that people care about her, that-that people notice her.” He frowns, looking contemplative before saying, “I’m sure you know this already. You see, there’s this guy that she, well-“

Luka trails off and rubs the back of his neck as if he’s already said too much. Ladybug swallows and tries to make her mouth work to say “Adrien.” Its like a bucket of ice water is being dropped on her head. All those hot, delightful feelings incited by Luka’s fondness being drowned out by the crushing realization that Adrien would never notice her in the same way.

“Yeah, Adrien,” Luka agrees, watching her out of the corner of his eye as she deflates. “He’s a good guy, but I think sometimes Marinette may feel a little unnoticed by him. I guess-I thought if I gave her that, showed her that people certainly do notice her, that it might help, even just a little.“

“That-that’s really sweet of you,” she says on a wobbly breath. “Very selfless even.“

Luka snorts. “You’re one to talk about being selfless.”

“I do my best to be. For Paris' sake.” Ladybug looks down at the wood and scrapes a finger absentmindedly against it. She can never really talk about the weight and the crushing pressure of being one of Paris’ heroes. Well, maybe not to anyone except for Chat Noir, but he seemed to strangely view it as more of a freedom than a burden half the time. Frowning slightly, she continues, “I worry that one day my best might not be enough.”

“Ladybug,” Luka says, grabbing her hand and squeezing it. She looks up at him, those soft glittering eyes and quirked lips. “I guarantee that you are enough both in and out of the mask.”

Ladybug blinks and feels as if she can hardly breathe. Was he always this smooth and charming? It feels as if he is talking to Marinette. As if he is seeing _her_ under the mask.

“I-“ she breathes, leaning closer without meaning to. “How do you know?”

The proximity doesn’t seem to faze him and his eyes glance briefly, almost imperceptibly, to her lips. “Trust me,” he says, his eyes dragging back up to hers. “I know.”

A part of her wants to lean in and kiss him. Consequences be damned. That feeling is so overwhelming and unexpected that she jolts straight to her feet.

“I’ve got to go,” she chokes out. Grabbing her yo-yo she bolts away before he can get out another word.

* * *

The next morning in class Marinette is exhausted. When she’d gotten home she’d hardly been able to sleep a wink for fear that Luka somehow _knew_. She’d spent all night panicking over the many, many implications of his words. The way he seemed able to see right through her.

“Here,” a mumbled voice says, breaking Marinette out of her anxious thoughts. Juleka drops an envelope onto her desk without preamble. “This is from my hopeless brother.”

“Luka?” Marinette questions surprised. She glances down at her own name scrawled hastily on the front.

Juleka rolls her eyes as she says, “I love him but he can be so lame sometimes.” Marinette can only laugh nervously, glancing down with something akin to horror at the note again.

She doesn’t dare look at it now, but she can practically feel it eating a hole into her book bag. She grips her pencil tightly in anticipation and feels the wood bending as if it might crack in half at any minute. Finally, unable to bear waiting any longer or the worried looks that Alya keeps shooting at her, Marinette raises her hand and blurts out that she needs to use the restroom.

Before waiting for an answer she grabs her backpack and runs for the door. As soon as she is safely ensconced in a stall she pulls out the note with trembling fingers. She’s preparing herself for the worst. Only, when she opens the note it is short and sweet.

_No pressure, Marinette, but I hope we can continue being friends after what I told you._

At the bottom is his number written out in a hurry, as if he had done it before he lost his nerve.

She holds the note to her chest, feeling a dizzying array of emotions swirl around her belly at the sweet words. She thinks about her conversation with him last night as Ladybug. If he had known it was her underneath the mask, then there would have been no need to send Marinette a letter telling her know that he wasn’t going to pressure her. Not when he had already said as much to her last night.

“There’s no way Luka knows, right Tikki?” she finally voices out loud for the first time.

Tikki pokes her head out of her purse, looking unsure. The little kwami shrugs wordlessly, mindful of their public location.

Marinette takes a deep breath and lets it out, still holding the note to her chest. “Right,” she answers herself.

She quietly exits the stall just as the bell rings. Her classmates flood out and Alya marches straight over to her and links their arms together. “Girl, what was that about?”

Marinette glances uncertainly at her friend, wracking her brain for an excuse when her eye catches Adrien lingering awkwardly near the exit, papers clutched in his hand. He’s looking straight at her.

A small recognizable thrill goes through her from head to toe and she can already feel her words getting nervously caught up in the back of her throat.

She tugs at Alya’s sleeve and pitches her voice low into her friends ear. “Is, umm, is Adrien staring at me.”

Alya flicks her eyes over to the blonde model and whistles low under her breath. “Yeah, right at you. This is your chance, Marinette!” All questions about her whereabouts are momentarily forgotten as a new goal forms in Alya’s mind.

Marinette’s heart convulses. “You think so?” she asks eyes flicking between Adrien and her friend nervously.

Alya playfully pushes her towards Adrien with shooing motions. Marinette gulps and turns to face him. Their eyes meet and Marinette feels…sick. Adrien is smiling kindly at her, his eyes on her but his mind a thousand miles away. She wonders how she’d never really noticed that before, that he was so often distracted even when he was being sincere and kind. No fire or heat erupts inside Marinette, even though she has his attention. Nervous butterflies in her stomach, maybe, but the raw feeling of electricity that eats at her insides whenever Luka looks at her with something akin to care and adoration in his eyes? That feeling just isn’t there.

The realization is startling and leaves her feeling vaguely empty and hollow.

“A-Adrien?” she questions. He blinks and then smiles at her. Just yesterday the sight of that smile directed at her would have left her stumbling over her words and spastically shouting. Now she just feels more confused than ever.

“I got you the assignment,” Adrien says, handing her the stack of papers in his hand. “You left for the bathroom before it was handed out. I didn’t want you to miss it.”

It’s achingly sweet of him. So Adrien. She remembers when he held out the umbrella to her in a similar manner, how it had made her blush and stutter. How she had felt like he was _noticing_ her. Only, now she can see that wasn’t what it was at all. Not now that she has something to compare it to. Specifically, the way Luka talks to her, the things he does to make her feel special and noticed. It is so painfully and obviously _different_ from the way Adrien interacts with her even now.

She suddenly feels very silly for confusing the simple friendly gestures from Adrien all these years as anything other than just that: simple friendly gestures.

Marinette shakily reaches out to grab the papers. “Thank you,” she manages to squeak out.

“Anytime,” Adrien says, glancing at the parking lot outside where his black car has just pulled up. “Got to go. See you.”

Marinette stands quietly for just a moment, trying to process the deep twisting knot in her stomach that feels a lot like regret and moving on.

“How’d it go,” Alya says, appearing suddenly and excitedly. “Don’t tell me, you chickened out again.”

Marinette turns to her friend with a sad smile. “’Fraid So.”

* * *

Later that night finds Marinette staring at her phone screen, the note from Luka crinkled up beside her. She had already carefully transferred the numbers from the page into her phone as a new contact but had yet had the courage to send anything.

Biting her lip she types out a new message. A simple _Hi Luka, it’s Marinette. Thanks for the note. I’d love to be friends._

That was innocuous enough, right? Or was she shutting down his feelings by emphasizing the whole friends thing? She wasn’t quite ready to look too deeply into what had happened with Adrien earlier today and what all her conflicting feelings might mean, but she at least knew that she wasn’t ready for Luka to move on from her. Selfish though it may be, she craved the feelings he was stirring inside her.

Marinette quickly hits the backspace, erasing everything except for the first sentence. _Hi Luka, it’s Marinette_. Send.

His response comes back much quicker than she is expecting, the buzz of her phone in her hands making her jump. _Hi Marinette. I was getting worried you hadn’t got my note. Jules said she delivered it, but you never know with your siblings._

Marinette’s fingers tremble as she types back _. Nope I got it. Thanks!_ She hesitates before adding: _I was thinking maybe we could hang out tomorrow?_

Marinette stares at the text. Too forward? Would he take it the wrong way, maybe think she was asking him on a date? Or would he know she was asking just as a friend? Unsure what to do and feeling the rising panic and heat in her face, she presses send before she can overthink it anymore and buries her face into her pillow to let out a frustrated scream.

There are a long few minutes that he doesn’t text back. Marinette keeps her phone clutched in her hand and her eyes glued shut almost hoping he never will. Then finally her phone buzzes again. Keeping her face buried in the pillow, Marinette mutters, “I can’t look. Tikki, you do it.”

Tikki gently lands on Marinette’s head, stroking the strands of her hair reassuringly. “It’s all fine, Marinette,” Tikki says, glancing at the phone. “He says he’d love nothing more than to see you. Oh, how romantic.”

Marinette peeks at her phone and feels a flush run over her. Taking in deep breaths she composes a quick response and sets an alarm for tomorrow feeling the anticipation settle deep in her bones.

Tomorrow, she thinks to herself happily as her eyes grow heavy with sleep. Tomorrow she would see him again.

* * *

There’s an akuma attack right before the first bell rings the next morning and Marinette curses under her breath. Still she finds a secluded area to transform and then begins swinging her way to the heart of the city.

The akuma has an oversized net in its hand and is shouting something about ungrateful strays. Chat is there already, swinging his baton and staying just out of reach as he yells taunts and holds off their opponent.

“Give me your miraculous, you mangy cat!” the akuma yells, charging Chat with the net.

Chat dodges once more, scrambling away from the tangle of rope that seems to suddenly come alive and change shape in order to ensnare its victim. Just as it seems like a piece of netting might snag around his leg, Ladybug swings out her yo-yo grabbing ahold of Chat’s tail and yanking him to safety on top of a nearby rooftop. He lands hard beside her.

“Meow-ouch,” Chat says, breathing deeply and rubbing his backside protectively. Then he looks up at her with a frown. “I think he intends to take me to the pound, Ladybug. I’m not built for something like that.” He shudders.

“Might serve you right, alley cat,” she jokes, pulling him to his feet swiftly with one hand and peeking down at the akuma who is looking around in bewilderment.

“So what’s the plan, bugaboo,” he asks, peeking down as well with a distasteful look on his face. “I’m not sure I want to find out what happens after he gets me in that net.”

Ladybug looks around, biting her lip. The net is going to make it almost impossible to get anywhere near him. They are going to have to be extra careful with this one. “We can’t hide out for long. He’ll find us soon if we don’t act quickly and then we will lose the upper hand. I think I need to call my Lucky Charm, but as soon as I do, it will give us away.”

“I can keep him distracted,” Chat says, confidently with a flick of his tail. Something about the idea doesn’t sit right in her gut. Chat has distracted numerous akumas for her over the years, but there’s something that just feels different this time. Like she’s missing something. But she really doesn’t have much of a choice; they are running low on time. “Okay,” she says reluctantly. Before he can vault off, she grabs his hand and looks at him seriously. “Chat, just be careful okay.”

She can see his cheeks turning pink and a pleased, lazy smile crawling across his face. “My lady, worried about me,” he sighs with a hand over his heart.

“Chat, you need to stay focused. Something isn’t right,” she says urgently. She glances around them; the akuma who had been calling for them to come out of hiding has suddenly gone eerily silent. In fact it is nowhere in sight now. The hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

Chat’s still smiling lopsidedly at her. He brings her hand to his lips. “Ladybug, don’t worry so much. Your knight in shining armor will-“

Chat’s words halt suddenly and his pupils dilate as his mouth drops open. His eyes flutter shut and his body goes completely limp. Ladybug rushes forward to catch him as he falls backwards off the building. She rolls them protectively in a somersault to soften their fall and then yanks the small purple dart out of his neck in horror.

Then before she can even pull her yo-yo out, a net descends around them from every side, rope binding them together. The akuma laughs victoriously and Ladybug feels panic rise in every inch of her body. She wiggles, trying to break free of the bonds. “Chat, Chat come on you have to wake up. Please.”

Chat only gurgles, drool falling out of the corner of his open mouth. With her arms bound, she can’t even call upon her lucky charm now. She has seconds to figure something out before the akuma makes quick work of getting its hands on their miraculous. The purple ring of light is already dancing around the akuma’s eyes as it gets its final orders from Hawkmoth to seize their miraculous.

But she has nothing. If Chat were awake he could call upon his cataclysm, but no matter how much she screams at him he won’t wake up. The akuma stalks towards them his hand reaching out for her earrings. It’s inches away and the only thing Ladybug can do is squeeze her eyes shut tightly…

A rush of air and a loud smack makes her open her eyes. The net falls out of the akuma’s grip with a clatter. Now no longer in the akuma’s possession the nets constrictive grip on her and Chat goes limp and she’s able to wriggle herself free. She looks to see the akuma scrambling back to its feet after having been barreled over by Alya.

There’s no time for her to waste or worry. She throws he yo-yo in the air shouting, “Lucky charm.”

Into her hand falls a piece of bamboo. She frowns looking around for just a moment before she notices the stray dart still lying on the ground near the net. She dives for it, grabbing it and performing a quick somersault as she sticks the dart into one side of the bamboo and brings the makeshift contraption to her lips, taking aim at the akuma as she thanks her lucky stars for such a direct lucky charm.

She pauses as she catches site of the akuma pulling Alya’s arm behind her back, using her best friend as a makeshift shield. She locks eyes with Alya. It’s the first time she’s ever seen her friend look so frightened, the first time she’s ever seen anything remotely like fear in Alya’s eyes. Her heart palpitates and she hesitates.

Chat finally stirs and Ladybug flicks her eyes to him. One look into her terrified eyes and he’s shaking off the grogginess and unsteadily gets to his feet. “The civilian, Chat,” she yells. He looks over taking stock of the situation and finally he jumps into action, grabbing his baton and launching himself into the air so fast that by the time the akuma has jerked up its head to try and follow Chat’s movement, Chat is already behind him.

In surprise, the akuma’s grip loosens and Alya breaks free. Chat scoops her up and vaults her to safety. Now with an unencumbered opening, Ladybug takes aim and shoots the dart at the akuma, hitting it straight in the neck. The akuma crumples over and Ladybug finds the tranquilizer gun that it must have used on Chat attached to its belt. She tosses it wordlessly to Chat who shouts, “Cataclysm.” Ladybug watches as the gun disintegrates and the black butterfly flutters out.

She cleanses it wordlessly and sets everything right with her miraculous ladybugs.

As soon as everything is back in place, she rounds on Chat with an unexpected and ferocious fury boiling her blood. “You could have been killed,” she shouts. “That dart, what if it hadn’t been a tranquilizer. What if it had been worse than that? You were so busy trying to-to flirt with me that you weren’t even paying attention to anything!”

Chat flattens his ears and looks at the ground. “So, now you have nothing to say!” she shouts, all the panic and adrenaline from the last few minutes making her feel like she’s about to lose her mind. Frustrated tears slip out of her eyes. “We almost lost, Chat. We almost lost our miraculous because you won’t let this crush go. You put us in danger. You put a civilian in danger.” Her hands fling out gesturing towards Alya.

She’s garnering a lot of attention now. Concerned citizens whispering amongst each other as she reams into Chat. She’s shaking so hard and her vision is going blurry. If Alya had been hurt, if Paris had fallen, she would have never forgiven herself. Why couldn’t Chat see how important it was that they took this seriously? Why couldn’t he be professional?

“Ladybug,” he chokes out. “I-It’s not a crush. I _love_ you. I’m sorry that things went so wrong back there, but you have to know that I-“

“I can’t do this right now, Chat,” she interrupts, holding up her gloved hand. The look in his eyes is so sincere. He truly loves her; she can see that now. She has been trying desperately not to believe it, not to see it, but it is staring her right in the face. How is she ever going to make him understand that he is only in love with a part of her? How is she ever going to make him understand that her feelings for him just aren’t the same? That though their partnership and friendship mean the world to her that’s all it will ever be. She can’t, not now, not when he almost cost them everything.

Her earrings beep their final warning and she’s grateful for it, needs to get away.

She pulls her yo-yo out somberly and Chat moves to grab her hand. “Wait, Ladybug-“

“Chat,” she warns, but he plows forward meeting her sad eyes straight on.

“Everything worked out didn’t it. I’m okay, you’re okay, and Paris is okay. I swear I’ll be more careful in the future. But, Ladybug, I’m not going to give up on you. I’m going to win your heart one day. I’ll prove how much I love you.”

Wordlessly she extricates her hand and shakes her head. “Don’t,” is all she says before zipping away.

If only he understood how divided her heart already was.


	2. Chapter 2

When Marinette walks onto the gangplank of the Liberty later that afternoon, she finds Juleka and Rose sitting out on deck chairs, chatting quietly and drinking lemonade. As soon as Rose sees her, however, she squeals. 

“Marinette!”

“Hi Rose. Hi Juleka.” She says, sheepishly, twisting some hair up nervously on her finger. There’s a small part of her that wishes she had given into the temptation to reschedule after everything that had happened this morning, but something had told her that being around Luka’s calming presence was probably the best thing for her frazzled nerves right now. She looks around the deck, wondering where he is. 

Juleka narrows her eyes knowingly. “Here to see, Luka?” she asks directly. Rose squeals once more and Marinette’s cheeks go rather pink. 

“I-I yeah, we, uhh, have plans to-I mean did Luka mention I was coming by?”

Juleka snorts. “Didn’t have to. He’s been playing that song on repeat again with the dumbest smile on his-“

“What she’s trying to say,” a red-faced Luka interrupts, appearing from below the deck of the ship. “Is welcome back to the Liberty, Marinette.”

Juleka and her brother share a long look with one another that seems to contain a lot of unspoken meaning that Marinette can’t quite decipher. Then after a moment Juleka shrugs and grabs Rose’s hand, whispering something that is too low for Marinette to hear. 

Luka turns and smiles at her. “Ignore her. I’m glad you could make it.”

“Me too,” Marinette says, her heart fluttering. 

Luka gestures behind him. “Would you want to go down below deck?” His hand finds the back of his neck at her slightly wide-eyed look. “I m-mean,” he stutters. “We don’t have to if you’re not comfortable.”

Marinette swallows back her fear and takes calming breaths. “Sure.”

“Great,” he says, gesturing for her to go first. As she is walking down, Juleka jokingly yells for them to behave down there to which Luka mutters something derisive under his breath. The implications of Juleka’s words have Marinette pressing her cool hands to her hot face. It hadn’t occurred to her until now just how much chemistry and attraction there is sparking in the air between them. And now that she is thinking about it, she finds that it is hard to stop. 

  
“Marinette,” Luka says as they make it to his bedroom. He grabs his guitar and smiles reassuringly at her. “Like I said, ignore Jules. She likes taking the piss out of me.”

Marinette tries to find the right words to respond. Luka doesn’t try to rush her, just sits and starts plucking absently at the strings and nods his head beside him indicating for her to sit. Usually Luka was so easy to talk to. Now she can’t help but wish she had Ladybug’s anonymity and confidence to get her through this. 

“I mostly wanted to come down here so I’d have my guitar,” he says. “Always feel a little more comfortable with this at my disposal.” He smiles another encouraging smile and plays a sweet little rift. 

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to say,” Marinette frets. She had been so eager and excited to see him all day, eager to forget about all the drama that had happened earlier, but now she feels terribly nervous.

“You don’t have to say anything. We can just hang out. I was glad you texted me.”

Everything he says is always so sweet and honest. Suddenly she feels herself relaxing and a genuine smile finds her lips. She looks at him in awe. “How do you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Say the right thing?”

Luka looks at her and shrugs. “I often think I’m always just putting my foot in my mouth. Like with Silencer-“ he pauses trailing off and winces. “Sorry, I wasn’t going to bring that up.”

An awkward silence settles and Luka closes his eyes in frustration. “Okay, let me just say this before I lose my nerve…” he starts cautiously. 

Marinette’s heart rate spikes in utter fear. She stands without consciously thinking about it, highly considering bolting from this moment that she isn’t sure she’s ready for. 

At the look on her face Luka seems to deflate a little. “Sorry. Sorry. Too much?”

Marinette shakes her head, tying to deny it as she watches him tense his hands on his guitar. That feeling of being on the edge of falling is consuming her and she just isn’t ready yet. She can’t let go. 

“No,” she manages to choke out. “I’m the one who should be sorry.” This had been so much easier to talk about as Ladybug. So much less overwhelming when it didn’t feel like she was on the cusp of having to make a choice yet. 

“No, no, no,” he tries to deny. “There’s nothing for you to be sorry about. I’m the one who burdened you with my feelings.” Luka runs his hands through his hair in frustration. “You’ve already got enough on your plate without me-“

“That’s not true.” Marinette suddenly says, her voice ringing out sharp and clear as his words process in her head. 

Luka looks confused. “You…don’t have a lot on your plate?”

“No, no,” Marinette starts giggling without meaning to, suddenly feeling a little more in balance again. “You didn’t burden me with your feelings, Luka. You-you never could have burdened me. It-it feels wonderful, actually to know that you notice me. Sometimes I feel like I can’t get enough of that feeling,” Marinette admits breathlessly, looking down. “Is that selfish of me to say?” She peeks back up at him nervously.

Luka looks contemplative like he is seriously considering her question. “I-I think everyone likes to feel that way,” he admits carefully. 

“They do?” Pressing her lips together, Marinette asks, “So, do you think that what I’m feeling is, well, like how, umm-“ She can hardly look at him, her teeth worrying her bottom lip. 

“Like what I feel for you?” he guesses. “Let me put it this way. There are certain genres of music that aren’t my favorite, but sometimes I like the feelings they evoke when I listen to them. That doesn’t quite mean I really like the overall genre though.”

“Oh,” Marinette says, looking down. “But I do like you, Luka. I really do.”

Luka smiles gently, soothingly, in that way only he can. “I know you do, but I think maybe you need more time? Of us just being friends, maybe? For you to resolve things so that you know for sure that what you’re feeling is also what you want.” 

Butterflies form in her stomach. “You-you’ll wait for me? To figure it out?”

Luka reaches for her hand and squeezes it in answer and Marinette feels a real smile blossom on her face. Luka releases her hand to pick up his guitar again. “If you’re willing to listen, I’d like to show you this new song I’ve been working on.”

Marinette can only smile and nod. As soon as he starts strumming at the strings the worry and fear and frustration of the day melt away completely. 

* * *

A quiet tap coming from her balcony awakes Marinette later that night. She jumps straight out of bed in shock, her heart beating wildly as she tries to get her eyes to adjust to the dark. Fumbling around, she manages to turn on the lamp on her desk. It casts a soft glow in the room.

Chat Noir smiles sheepishly at her from outside. 

Marinette has to suppress the urge to scowl as she walks out onto the balcony with a blanket clutched around her shoulder. “Chat what are you doing here?”

“I can’t visit my favorite princess?” he says, with a flick of his tail. 

“I was sleeping, Chat!” She has to bite back the urge to tell him she really doesn’t want to see him right now. 

He seems to droop a little bit, and for the first time Marinette notices the heavy look in his eyes. It softens her heart just a smidge and she wonders guiltily if she had been the one to put that look there. She tuts and reluctantly grabs him by the arm, “Might as well come in then. I’ll make you some tea.”

He follows her wordlessly and sits down on her pink chaise. He looks so incongruous in his all black outfit in her very pink room that it almost makes her smile despite her lingering anger. “Stay here,” she says and then goes to fix them some tea.

When she gets back he’s looking at the pictures on her wall with a look on his face she can’t quite decipher. She has half a mind to be embarrassed about all the Adrien pictures, but she’s too tired to really give into the feeling fully. It‘s only Chat Noir after all. What would he care?

“Adrien Agreste, right?” he says, wrinkling his nose a little. 

“He’s a friend,” she says, handing him the tea. He looks up and meets her eyes and gives her a small genuine smile.

“Yeah?” he asks, sipping the tea and practically beaming now. She gives him a bewildered look and nods.

“One of my classmates too,” she continues. “A model, although I’m sure you already knew that. I, umm, I like fashion is all,” she finally attempts to explain away the sheer number of his pictures adorning her walls. 

“Hmm,” is all he says.

“I’m sure you didn’t come here to talk about Adrien,” she prompts. The atmosphere in the room immediately becomes tense again.

Chat’s small smile falls and a world-beaten sigh leaves his lips. “I-I’m not really sure why I came here at all, to be perfectly honest.”

The expression of hurt on his face puts a guilty lump in her throat and she goes to sit beside him. “Is-Is this about Ladybug,” she asks tentatively, remembering their interaction earlier today. 

“Yes,” he says, wincing. “No. Maybe.”

Marinette snorts. “That’s very clear.”

“It’s,” Chat starts haltingly. “You-I’m sure you’ve already seen the video…” 

The look on her face is answer enough and Chat sighs deeply, putting his face in his hands. Alya had managed to capture Ladybug’s whole outburst and had already posted it to her blog. It was hard to watch and Marinette had barely been able to get through it without feeling extremely guilty. It was embarrassing to see herself lose so much control in front of all of Paris, even if she did stand by what she had said. However, after watching the video numerous times it was clear to her now that she definitely could have gone about the whole situation better. 

“I really screwed up, didn’t I?” Chat mumbles into his hands.

Marinette chooses her words carefully. “I think,” she says gently. “Maybe Ladybug was worried about you. It was a close call and it scared her I’m sure.”

“I didn’t mean to worry her,” Chat says staring at his booted feet. “I didn’t mean to let her down. I just-I love her _so_ much.”

She had heard him declare the same earlier, but it still fills her with dread. Unlike Luka’s gentle love that makes her feel light and carefree, Chat’s love feels…dangerous and risky. It unsettles her deeply in a way she can’t quite explain. 

“What do you think I should do, Marinette? How do I make this right?”

Marinette honestly isn’t sure what the right answer is. Things with Chat were always complicated, but now with her love life being further complicated by Luka’s confession she feels even more unsure of anything.

She shrugs a little as Chat continues looking to her for answers. “I can’t tell you what to do, Chat. I don’t know how to solve things with you and Ladybug. You have to talk to her.” 

“That’s easier said than done,” Chat says looking up towards her ceiling forlornly. 

“Tell me about it,” Marinette mutters, thinking about Luka. 

This seems to catch his attention and he sits back up. “Oh, now what’s troubling you, princess? Too many handsome suitors knocking down your door?” Chat was always doing that, opening up a little bit and then deflecting to someone else’s problems as soon as the opportunity arose. Still, she takes the bait. 

“Not quite,” she says, biting her thumbnail. “There is this guy-“

“The one you’re in love with?” he questions.

“No, actually, he-I think I’m starting to see that boy a little differently now than I did before,” she admits. “Like maybe we’re not the match that I’d always hoped.”

“Really?” Chat asks, leaning forward in interest.

“Yeah, really. It’s sort of caught me off guard. Then on top of that, there’s this-this other boy. He’s making me feel things I’ve never felt before. He likes me, he sees me, and it’s just so wonderful, kitty.”

Chat whistles low under his breath. “Sounds like it.”

“But, I don’t know if I’m ready yet to give up on my old love, you know? I’ve loved him for so long that I just don’t know if I can let it go yet. And then what if I do, but I’m wrong and I end up hurting Luka-” She trails off, a hand coming up to clamp over her mouth, but the damage is already done.

“Luka?” he questions. “Luka Couffaine?”

“You know him,” Marinette says, mortified.

“Well, not really, no,” he says lightly. “Just know of him, you could say.”

Marinette feels her face heating and she hides it in her hands. “Hey, there’s no judgment from me princess. Although, I did think I was the only man in your life so I am terribly wounded.”

This startles a laugh out of Marinette and they chuckle together as she settles down from her embarrassment. 

“What do we do, Chat?” she says, spreading her hands out to encompass the sheer convoluted nature of their young love lives. 

He contemplates her question for a moment and then jokes, “Perhaps you and I should run away together. Leave all these complicated feelings behind us.”

Marinette smiles and flicks his bell, making it ding. Underneath his pushiness with Ladybug, he really did have a good heart. “In your dreams, kitty.”

They sit in comfortable silence for a few minutes longer as they finish their tea. Once he’s done, he hands the mug back to her and stands up. “I should get going so you can get your beauty sleep, princess.”

She follows him out to the balcony and before he goes she says carefully, “Perhaps, Chat it will be like that with you and Ladybug in the end. You’ll realize she wasn’t what you really needed, after all. Someone else will come along and make you realize what you were missing. And then you’ll be able to move on and be happy.”

Chat pats the top of her head, ruffling her hair affectionately. “Maybe,” he says like he doesn’t believe it and then vaults away before she can say anything else. 

* * *

A few days later and Marinette is feeling antsy. She hasn’t seen Luka since he’d played her the song he was working. Sweet and melodic. Her heart song. That was how he saw her. She had left the Liberty that day feeling as if she was floating on cloud nine, the fuzzy feelings in her stomach only growing the more they spent time together. And interspersed with that, is the addicting electric feeling that jolts through her whenever their eyes meet and he let’s the longing and want show a little too clearly. 

She’s been thinking about that look endlessly the past few days. Almost as much as she’s been thinking about her conversation with Chat. There was something about opening up to him, seeing the parallels between his love for Ladybug and her love for Adrien that left her feeling troubled. Had she been pining for Adrien as hopelessly as Chat pined for Ladybug? She really didn’t want to think about that too closely. 

So much was her distraction that even her Maman had started to notice. Just this morning she had turned from where she was organizing the last few chocolate éclairs in the display cabinet and said, “Not another design that’s got you up late, is it Marinette?”

“Guilty,” Marinette had agreed readily, willing her face not to give her away. Sabine had only smiled knowingly and resumed her task. 

The point was, she was distracted and she knew it. Though Luka had sent her a few kind texts over the past few days, Marinette was itching to see him and feel the warmth he ignited in her again. 

But she was hesitant to reach out; unsure if he may need some space from her to process his own feelings after everything they had talked about. 

In her room, Marinette taps her pencil on her sketchbook and checks the time again. 12:42 am. Standing and stretching, she tries to appear casual as she looks at Tikki. 

“Do you fancy a late night patrol, Tikki? Just a quick block to clear the mind before sleeping?” 

Tikki opens one eye and looks at her accusingly. “Marinette,” she starts.

“Please Tikki?” 

The kwami sighs. “I still don’t think this is the right thing. Seeing Luka like this.”

“I never said I was going to,” she deflects.

Tikki gives her an incredulous look and Marinette’s face cracks. “Fine I was going to. Tikki, I need this. The confidence that Ladybug gives me, I can explore these things in a way I never could as Marinette.”

“Okay, but remember that I warned you.”

* * *

When Ladybug makes it outside the porthole to Luka’s half of the bedroom, she is surprised to find that he is still up, scribbling away at a notebook, his guitar lying out beside him. There are bags under his eye, but he looks relaxed as he jots down notes. 

Before she can talk herself out of it, she taps on the little window. “Luka,” she whispers. His head snaps up and his eyebrows rise up his forehead. 

He sets down the notebook and makes his way over to the porthole to open it for her. She smoothly slides through and looks around at the messy state of his room.

“Ladybug?” he says questioningly. 

“Hi Luka. I hope its okay that I dropped by.” She walks over to his bed and gestures at the notebook, resisting the urge to take a peek. “What are you working on?”

Luka gives a sheepish laugh. “Just a song is all. It’s not quite right yet, but I haven’t been able to figure out why. But, uhh, if you don’t mind me asking, Ladybug what are you doing here?”

She turns and smiles at him in what she hopes is a friendly manner. “Being a superhero can be a lonely kind of gig. I enjoyed talking with you before, I hoped we could talk again maybe?”

Luka looks sort of pleased by this and smiles in turn. “Have a seat.” Ladybug takes him up on his offer and he joins her, picking up his guitar and plucking what she knows to be her song. The one he’d shown her just a few days ago. She had no idea that he felt it wasn’t quite right yet. Now looking at him, she can tell he’s really been agonizing over it. Her heat thumps in her chest.

“That’s really beautiful,” she manages to say. He looks up and shrugs. “What was the inspiration,” she asks bumping his shoulder playfully. “Wouldn’t happen to be that girl you were telling me about.

“Marinette,” he supplies wistfully. 

That look in his eyes. She doesn’t think it will ever fail to make her swoon. 

“What about you, Ladybug,” he returns somewhat cautiously. ”The video with you and Chat was pretty…intense.”

Ladybug frowns and then sighs sadly, thinking back to the look on Chat’s face when she’d yelled at him. “I worry sometimes that I’m really hurting Chat Noir. But I don’t know how else to express to him that it’s not going to happen between us. I…I probably could have handled it better though.”

“It should be enough,” Luka insists quietly. “You telling him. Although, I agree that a gentler approach might be appreciated.”

“I know, I know,” she says, wincing guiltily. “He’s my partner and I don’t know what else to do that won’t damage our working relationship and our friendship even more. He scared me so much that day. I lost my temper, but I wish I hadn’t hurt him like I did. I can’t do this without Chat.”

“I wish I knew the answer for you, Ladybug.” 

“It’s fine,” Ladybug says softly. “It just makes my love life that much more complicated is all.”

Luka glances at her, looking intrigued but like he is trying to hide it. Ladybug bites her lip, not having meant to confess all of that. There was just something about Luka something that made her want to spill her guts to him. Even if it was about him. 

“My civilian life,” she clarifies. “I thought-I thought I loved someone but now I’m not so sure that’s what it was.”'

Luka turns fully to her now, setting his guitar aside. “What makes you think that?” he asks.

Ladybug shakes her head. This conversation was starting to feel a little bit too much like the one she’d had with Chat. What was it about these boys that had her ready to confess all her deepest secrets? “Just lately, it seems as if there’s this other feeling-this other person-that’s making me feel things way more intensely than I felt before. I feel conflicted and like I’m being wishy-washy.”

She knows she’s toeing the line here of being too obvious. With Chat it had been easy, as he didn’t really know her or what was going on. But Luka…he was directly involved. She could easily give herself away here without meaning to. However, when she looks up to catch his eyes nothing in his expression suggests that he is on to her in any way. He only rises up his palms. 

“Sometimes people move on or find something different. Or sometimes people feel things for two people at once. It happens, Ladybug. I wouldn’t be so hard on your self.”

“I don’t want anyone to get hurt anymore,” she says, catching his eyes and pouring that sentiment as much into her words as she can. “Least of all people that I care about.”

Luka nods in understanding, his eyes shining just a little. Then he says, “Make sure you’re also protecting your own heart, Ladybug. I feel like maybe you can be selfless to a fault at times. Just from what I’ve seen.”

Marinette isn’t quite sure what possesses her to say it. Something about the suit, and the hour, and the way he is looking at her makes her feel daring. “It seems like you’ve been paying attention,” she says flirtatiously, breaking the heavy atmosphere in the room. 

Luka stutters, and looks at her with wide eyes. Under his breath she thinks she hears him mutter, “You have no idea,” but she really can’t be sure.

* * *

“You’ve been hanging out with Luka quite a bit,” Alya says apropos of nothing. Marinette who had been trying to crack the physics homework, glances at her friend who is lounging on her chaise. She had invited Alya over to talk to her about the blog post and gently express her concerns over her friend getting into the line of fire once again. Marinette still remembers the fear in her friend’s eyes the day the akuma had attacked her. Still she’s not quite sure how to broach the conversation without giving herself away. The video shows no evidence of Alya tackling the akuma and Alya had yet to bring it up like Marinette had been hoping might happen. 

Leave it to Alya to be more concerned about her friend’s love life than her own safety.

“Have I?” Marinette asks innocently, going back to her paper and scribbling out a doodle in the margins. 

“Mmmhmm,” Alya replies. Marinette can practically feel her friend’s eyes digging into the back of her skull. “Juleka says you’ve been over almost every day this week.”

Marinette tries not to cringe. “I’ve been working on some new designs for the band. Luka’s been helping with the concept.” Not a total lie, but not exactly the whole truth either. While they did spend most of their time talking out ideas for the band’s aesthetic, there was definitely an undercurrent to every interaction they had. Something had shifted between them these last few weeks. Her feelings for Adrien seemed to be getting further and further from her mind. 

But it didn’t just stop there. Her late night visits as Ladybug were also getting more and more frequent. There was something so freeing about being able to discuss this side of her life with him. No judgment ever passed his lips, he listened and he chose all his response so carefully as if he really wanted to help her. He saw her, truly, in a way that she didn’t even see herself. 

And she would be lying if she said there wasn’t something powerful about being able to fluster him both as Marinette _and_ Ladybug. But even as she shamelessly flirted with him, saying all the things as Ladybug that she couldn’t manage to make leave her lips as herself, he never did take the bait. His devotion towards her civilian side warmed her heart. 

A smile rushes over her face just thinking about how sweet he always was, telling her, not unkindly, that just like her and Chat Noir, his heart lay elsewhere. And yet, he never seemed keen to get her to stop flirting with him either. She often wonders if he is just as drunk on the attention as she is his. 

“You’re full on beaming now, Marinette. C’mon spill. You’ve barely said one word about Adrien this week and now Luka has you smiling and giggling like that. You like him don’t you!”

“I-“ Marinette fumbles. “I think so, Alya. I really do. But I’m worried that maybe I like more the idea that someone loves me. I don’t want to hurt Luka if I’m wrong. That’s the last thing I want to do.” She feels like she’s been voicing the same concern for weeks and weeks now. The more she says it, the more it’s starting to feel like an excuse. 

“Well, I have the feeling that Luka would let you slap him across the face and then say thank you for it. That kid is so gone on you from what Juleka says.”

Marinette stands up, shocked. “Alya!”

Unrepentant, her best friend shrugs. “It’s true. Why not just kiss him. See how things go. We’re young, Marinette. Liking each other is enough at our age. If it doesn’t work out then it doesn’t work out. You learn and you grow. Why not give him a chance?” 

Marinette chews her thumbnail, uncertain. “I don’t know Alya. Luka’s important to me. He’s not a rebound, I don’t think I should mess with his feelings like that.” 

“If you say so,” Alya acquiesces. “Now c’mere, let me show you what I’ve been working on for the blog.”

It’s just the opening she needs to voice her own concerns. “Speaking of the blog,” she starts tentatively. Alya raises an eyebrow and Marinette gulps. 

“Chat came by to visit me one night while he was patrolling. I just happened to be on the balcony and he, umm, he told me what happened. With the most recent akuma.” 

Alya’s eyes widen and her hands cross defensively over her chest. “I know what you’re going to say. It really wasn’t a big deal. I’m fine. You weren’t there I had to do it, Marinette. Things were looking bad.”

Marinette smiles sadly. “I know you did. Chat told me you were a hero that day.”

Alya’s expression softens. “Really? He said that.”

Marinette nods and pulls Alya into a hug. “Just, you have to promise me to be more careful. Chat said they got lucky. I mean things must have been bad for Ladybug to be so upset in your video. Please, Alya, I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Alya squeezes her back tightly and Marinette can feel her trembling. It breaks her heart, wondering how she’d been coping having to hold all this in. Alya’s voice is thick when she says, “I’ll make a deal with you.”

“What’s that,” Marinette says. 

“I’ll be more careful, if you promise me you’ll think about what I said. About giving things with Luka a chance.”  
  


Marinette pulls back slightly surprised, her heart thundering at the thought. “I-If you’ll be more careful then I promise I’ll _think_ about it Alya.”

Alya smirks at her and squeezes her shoulders. “I guarantee that thinking about it is all it will take.”

* * *

Alya’s words won’t leave her alone for the rest of the night. Her friend had been right, of course, the sly conniving fox that she is. Even just thinking about giving Luka a chance is enough to make her suddenly obsessed with the idea of kissing him. What if she did just go for it? There’s something about the thought that sends a thrill through her. She can imagine his gentle hands, cupping her cheek, his hooded eyes filled with adoration. Marinette closes her eyes, picturing how nice it would feel. To kiss someone simply for the sake of kissing them. Kissing them because she liked them and it didn’t have to be any deeper or more complicated than that. 

Biting her lip, Marinette calls for Tikki. The kwami says nothing only gives a disapproving look that Marinette is getting way too good at ignoring. 

“Spots on, Tikki,” she whispers in the dark of her bedroom. The magic rushes over her and soon she is zipping though Paris on a familiar route. 

Once she has arrived at the Liberty, Marinette finds Luka already up, pacing around his room in an anxious like manner. 

She taps on the little porthole and he opens it immediately looking relieved. “Ladybug,” he says in greeting. “I was worried you weren’t going to come.”

“Have you been waiting for me, handsome?” she quips back, unable to resist. Luka flushes, but otherwise ignores her, waving her over to the half scribbled pages of sheet music on his bed.

“I-I think I’ve finally got it.”

Ladybug places a hand on her hip. “The song?” 

Luka smiles, looking towards his feet. “Yeah, the song, I think I finally found the missing pieces I’ve been looking for. I-you helped with that actually.”

Ladybug blinks in surprise. She can’t help being flattered. “Did I?”

“Yeah,” he says, throwing the strap of his guitar over his shoulder. “You just made me realize some things about Marinette I don’t think I did before.” 

It was true, they did talk about Marinette quite a bit, but usually it was Luka who would spend time telling Ladybug about what he and Marinette had gotten up to that day, all his favorite little moments. He would open up about his feelings in a way that made her feel simultaneously guilty and greedy. It was truly intoxicating to see him freely say the things he wouldn’t to Marinette, for fear of pressuring her. But as Ladybug, she could eat it all up, let it warm her heart and set her blood on fire. And she could flirt back and swoon appropriately, say all the things that she didn’t feel she could as Marinette. 

But the guilt? That was starting to eat at her too. What would he think if he knew that she was eagerly listening to him declare his love for her over and over as her alter ego? She’d made Ladybug a confidant to him as much as he was to her and she knew she had done it for her own benefit. It made her feel sick sometimes, but try as she might she truly couldn’t bring herself to stop. 

“So, your song is done. What’s next Romeo?” she teases, shaking her head to clear it of those darker thoughts.

“I was hoping I could play it for you?”

“For me?” she says, surprised. “Shouldn’t you play it for Marinette?”

Luka chuckles nervously. “Yeah, yeah that’s the plan. Just wanted a second opinion in case I totally embarrass myself.”

“I don’t think that’s possible,” Ladybug tuts. “Every note you play is beautiful.”

Luka looks well and truly pleased by the praise. “Thanks Ladybug.”

He starts playing then and she sits down beside him, listening closely. She’s heard the song now several times, different bits here and there, but this is something else entirely. The melody is as sweet and charming as it always is with kindness and softness as the backbone, but now interspersed in the sweet notes are more powerful chords that seem to speak of determination and bravery. And if that isn’t enough, Luka has added a haunting bit of mystery and magic that somehow manages to weave its way throughout the song. 

Tears begin gathering in Ladybug’s eyes much to her surprise and she scoots closer, wanting to feel those vibrations deep in her soul. When the last note finally rings out, Ladybug is no longer even breathing. She looks at Luka and his eyes lift up to hers, so soft, always so soft no matter if he is looking at Marinette or Ladybug. 

“What did you think?” he whispers, the tension in the air too thick to speak any louder. He sets his guitar to the side and meets her eyes.

“I-“ Ladybug tries to string a sentence together. “I don’t know what to say.” She leans in, wanting to be closer still. Needing to be closer. She feels hypnotized. Anything he asks, anything he wants—she knows that here in this moment she will give it to him. Maybe that is why, with Alya’s words ringing in her ears from earlier, she leans in to close the gap and kisses him. 

It’s like a crescendo. All the tension from the past few weeks crashing into her in one fell swoop. Butterflies erupt in her belly and make her feel warm and safe. She sighs into his mouth waiting for him to catch on, to truly kiss her like she knows he wants to. And for a brief, wonderful moment, he does exactly that. He pulls her closer by the shoulders slants their mouths together and kisses her and kisses her and kisses her. He kisses her as if it might be his only chance to ever kiss her. She feels drunk off the feeling and terribly in love. Her mouth leaves his only to gasp in a short breath before she starts kissing him again. And once her neck has been craning awkwardly for long enough, she unthinkingly swings a leg over his hip and straddles him, resuming the exploration of his mouth and his face and his neck with her lips. His hands come up to her waist to hold her steady as she places biting kisses down his neck, leaving small marks as she goes. He pants underneath her onslaught, sounding utterly destroyed. And yet it isn’t enough, she can’t stop. She finds his mouth again and sighs at the feeling of their lips sliding back together. 

Her gloved fingers grip his hoodie as she brings her hips tentatively down seeking something to relieve the tension coiling relentlessly in her gut. He buries his face into her neck in response and his answering moan is, “ _Marinette_.”

And that’s when he freezes under her, his mouth going utterly and completely slack as reality slams back in hard. 

She pulls back, confused, seeking out the comfort of his gaze, but he won’t meet her eyes. He looks ashamed, he looks guilty, and he looks beautifully rumpled and kissed. It takes all of thirty seconds for Marinette to feel her own heart drop as she realizes with clarity the reason for his distress.

She isn’t Marinette right now. She’s _Ladybug_. 

“What did you say?” she whispers, horrified. Scrambling backwards off his lap she stands up and her hands go to her flushed, masked face in complete humiliation. Looking at him, her markings all down the side of his exposed neck and his kissed bruised lips, a mixture of her own shame crawls hot and heavy into her gut replacing the heat that had been there moments before. 

This, Marinette thinks, is what Tikki had meant when she’d said that this was all going to lead to _misunderstandings_. 

Her instinct is to run far away from this place. To take out her yo-yo, swing away, and never show her face in the light of day again. To not be confronted with the possibility that Luka Couffaine has somehow discovered her identity. 

“I-I’m sorry, Ladybug,” Luka whispers, horrified at himself. 

“Did you just call me, Marinette?” she croaks. “Do you think that I’m-“

Luka’s head snaps up for the first time looking at her with wide eyes as he blurts, “I was thinking about her is all.”

She blinks at him, surprised by the outburst. Furrowing her brows, she says, “What?”

He looks away again, a fresh flush crawling up his chest and cheeks. “When-when you were kissing me,” he continues shakily, the words coming out like slow molasses, like he is forcing them out. “I was-I was thinking about her. Ima-Imagining that-that-“ he trails off weakly wringing his fingers together. 

Ladybug blinks, feeling the panic over her identity slowly dying down while this new realization firmly wiggles its way into her brain. “So you were-“ she stops, unsure how to finish that sentence, unsure how to process the fact that Luka had kissed Ladybug as a substitute for herself. That in actuality, all those clever things he was doing with his mouth, he had been imagining doing to her civilian self the entire time. It sends a delightful shudder down her spine.

“I-I am so sorry, Ladybug. That was truly awful of me.” He looks so defeated. So ashamed of himself. And yet she had been the one to kiss him. In all reality, she was the monster here. Tikki had warned her that this would happen and she’d refused to listen. 

Faintly, she says, “No Luka, I should be the one apologizing. I-I don’t know what came over me.”

A complete and utter lie. It had been the song, it had spoke to her in a way she could hardly understand. The way he saw straight through her and laid her out in song, so beautifully and romantically. She had forgotten herself completely. Forgotten that she was transformed. All she had known in that moment was that she had wanted to kiss him, and _god_ had it felt good.

“Me-me either,” he echoes. 

Silence ticks by where neither of them knows what to say. 

“I should go,” Ladybug says, when she finally can’t stand it anymore. “I-I should go.”

“Wait,” Luka says. “Wait Ladybug.” 

She turns to him, his stricken expression staring back at her. This was all her fault and she wasn’t sure how in the world she was ever going to be able to fix it. “Don’t-“ He chokes a little as if the words are difficult to get out. “Don’t tell Marinette. Please.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really enjoyed writing this story and I'm hoping you all enjoyed it too! I'd love to hear some feedback if you are so inclined :)

When Marinette de-transforms, her eyes immediately fill with tears. Any reprimanding words die on Tikki’s tongue at the sight. “Oh Marinette,” she whispers.

“What is wrong with me?”

“Oh Marinette. Nothing. Nothing at all.”

“What must Luka think of me? Of-of Ladybug I mean.”

Tikki frowns. “At least he hasn’t figured out your identity. We have to look on the bright side, Marinette. That’s the most important thing here, for his safety.”

“He seemed so heart-broken, Tikki.”

“Luka has a kind and loyal heart. I think he must be feeling confused about his feelings for you as Marinette and you as Ladybug.”

“I thought the flirting was harmless,” Marinette whispers. “Just, a way to blow off some of the tension between us. I didn’t think he’d start developing feelings for Ladybug. I mean he had to have felt something for Ladybug to be kissing her like that even if he was thinking of me. Right?”

“He’s also a teenage boy,” Tikki says gently. “A gentleman, sure, but even they have their limits when pretty girls visit them in skin tight suits late at night…and then start kissing them.”

“Tikki!” Marinette yelps, her facing going splotchy with color. “I can’t believe you just said that.”

“It’s the truth. Just as much as it’s the truth that under the mask, Ladybug is still Marinette. Maybe he hasn’t made all the connections, but to some extent it’s still you under there. And he likes you, Marinette. He pays attention to you. There’s no way you can fool him forever. If Ladybug is an extension of you, then he was sure to like her as well. Which is what makes this so dangerous, Marinette. You can’t see him as Ladybug anymore.”

Those words roll around Marinette’s head. Luka, liking her no matter what mask she is wearing. There’s something poetic about it, really. She sighs. “I’m sorry Tikki. You’re right, of course.”

While, her heart still aches she knows there is nothing she can do now to fix anything. All she wants to do is sleep and forget tonight had ever happened.

Wiping at her eyes, Marinette crawls beneath her covers and falls asleep.

* * *

When Marinette wakes up the next morning her face feels swollen from crying and her head feels fuzzy. The memories come back full force and only make her sniffle more.

“Marinette,” a voice calls. Her door opens and Sabine’s face pokes through. “Marinette if you don’t get up soon-oh dear.”

Trailing off Sabine moves over to her daughter and lays a gentle hand on her forehead. “You feel feverish, Marinette. Are you alright?”

“I don’t think I’m well, Maman,” Marrinette croaks, trying not to cry.

“Okay then, that settles it. No school today. Soup and rest.”

“Thank you, Maman.”

Sabine smiles gently, tucking the blankets around her daughter before kissing her forehead. Marinette feels nothing but relief at the prospect of staying in bed all day.

Marinette sleeps fitfully for the next few hours, attempting to rest but unable to shake the anxiety she feels. She’s been checking her phone obsessively. Wondering if Luka will message her, as he usually does. Too scared to message him herself. Nothing comes and her heart starts growing heavier by the minute.

By mid-day she starts feeling and looking much better. Alya comes by with her schoolwork and frets over her ghastly appearance. Marinette wants nothing more than to confide in her best friend everything that had happened, but she knows she doesn’t have that luxury. Not with Ladybug involved. And though she knows that Alya can tell something is up, she doesn’t push the issue like she usually might. That’s how Marinette knows it must truly be bad, if even Alya isn’t attempting to pry.

After Alya leaves, Marinette grabs her phone, determined to send Luka a message. For all he knows, _Marinette_ isn’t aware that there is anything wrong, so it has to be up to her to set it right.

However, just as she starts typing a knock sounds at her door. “Marinette,” Sabine says, “You have another visitor.”

Marinette squeaks in surprise dropping her phone in her panic. Was he here?

The door opens before Marinette can even contemplate flinging herself over the balcony and her wide eyes meet Juleka’s.

“Oh,” Marinette says, breathing out a long relieved breath.

Juleka pushes a long sheet of her hair behind her ear nervously. “Hi,” she mumbles. “Can I come in?”

Not knowing what else to do, Marinette gestures for her to sit down on her chaise. Juleka looks nervous, she’s fiddling with the cloth of her pants and Marinette waits patiently for her to speak. When she continues to sit in silence, Marinette feels worry creeping up.

“Is-Is everything okay?” she hazards. Juleka shifts slightly to look at her. Marinette swallows and tentatively asks, “Is Luka okay?”

Juleka flips the question on her. Gently, she asks, “Are you okay, Marinette?”

“Me?” she asks, surprised.

Juleka nods and becomes very interested in her own chipping nail polish. “You weren’t at school today. And…Luka was acting weird this morning.”

Marinette’s lips tremble and she tries to keep her voice even as she asks, “Uhh, weird how?”

“Just, didn’t seem very happy.” Julkeka shrugs. “Like his music, I mean. He was playing and-“ Juleka winces. “Yeah, not happy. When I asked him about it, he got upset with me and said he didn’t want to talk about it. But I kept pushing and I asked if there was something going on with you and well he-“

Marinette isn’t breathing.

“-he seemed really ashamed,” Juleka finishes quietly, although Marinette isn’t quite sure Juleka is telling the full extent of the story. “The point is,” Juleka continues hastily. “You weren’t at school today and Luka seems guilty about something to do with you and I just want to make sure he didn’t do anything stupid to upset you.”

“Oh,” Marinette breathes out, trying to rein in her emotions. To not give anything away. “That’s really sweet of you to check in on me, but Luka hasn’t done anything to upset me. I honestly just wasn’t feeling very well today and my Maman insisted I stay home. Last I saw Luka was when I was over there yesterday for Kitty Section’s band practice.”

Juleka frowns. “And nothing happened then? Maybe when he walked you home?”

Marinette swallows nervously. “Not-not that I can recall.”

There’s a long pause where Juleka seems to be contemplating what she has said. Marinette lays a hand on her shoulder, hating to see her friend so worried. Hating to hear how distraught Luka really was over everything that had happened with Ladybug. That he felt so guilty about it.

“Marinette,” Juleka says, finally turning to her and meeting her eyes in a way that is very uncharacteristic of her. “Luka might be my idiot brother, but…I really don’t want to see him get hurt.”

Marinette’s throat constricts up.

“Which is why,” Juleka continues haltingly, like she doesn’t quite want to say it, but feels she needs to. “Which is why I need to tell you that I’ve never seen Luka like this before. He feels things so intensely, Mari, but this is like on a whole other level.”

“I-“ Marinette starts, but stops unsure what even to say to that. She had been a direct witness to those feelings for weeks now, but to hear it laid out this way by his sister makes her hands shake and her stomach knot up.

Juleka continues solemnly, her eyes flickering to the posters of Adrien on her walls. The ones she had been considering taking down for weeks, but hadn’t quite been able to do yet. It had felt too much like an admission. “I’m worried that maybe you two spending so much time together is messing with his head a little bit.”

“You-you think I might be leading him on,” Marinette supplies, connecting the dots, and feeling a certain level of panic at the idea. She’d never even really considered that she might be doing just that, intentionally or not. Juleka grimaces, but doesn’t try to deny that’s how she feels.

“Are you still in love with, Adrien?” Juleka continues, seriously.

Marinette thinks back to the past few weeks. She thinks about the sincere but empty sort of smile that Adrien had given her. She thinks about him and Kagami, practically joined at the hip these days. She thinks about Chat Noir and his love for Ladybug. She thinks about how painfully similar that her chasing after Adrien compares to Chat chasing after Ladybug. Then she thinks about Luka, about the song he’d written her, the passion in his eyes and his endearing smile. She thinks about the heat in her blood when he looks at her and the way his lips had felt when she’d been kissing him.

“I know this might sound crazy, Juleka. But-“ She meets her friends eyes, trying to convey how sincere she is. “I think I’ve been ready to move on from Adrien for awhile now.”

As soon as the words are out, some weight she didn’t even know she’d been carrying lifts off her chest. Juleka blinks at her owlishly, not having expected that answer.

“You’re serious?”

“Yeah,” Marinette laughs, feeling more clarity than she has in weeks. Feeling so light and free. “Yeah, I really am.” She turns to her friend, grabbing her hands. “Don’t worry Juleka, I’m going to make this right.”

* * *

The next morning, she sees Adrien talking with Kagami by the steps of the school. She walks straight towards him, her lips set in a grim expression.

Adrien turns and catches her eye, looking sort of surprised at the intensity of her focus. Nervously he rubs at the back of his neck. “Hi, Marinette,” he says.

“Hi Adrien,” she says. “Hi Kagami.”

Kagami looks at her just a little too knowingly when she replies, “Good morning, Marinette.”

She takes in a breath to steel her nerves. “Can I talk to you for a moment, Adrien? Privately?”

Adrien blinks and his eyes find Kagami’s. Marinette sees Kagami nod ever so slightly. Turning back to her, he says, “Of course, Marinette lead the way.”

As Marinette trudges into the building, leading him towards the nearest empty classroom, she turns back for just a brief moment to catch Kagami’s eyes. The other girl has her hands behind her back and Marinette can’t quite read her expression, but she hopes Kagami can read hers.

When they’re finally alone together, the door clicking shut behind them, Marinette turns to look at Adrien. He looks slightly bewildered but not upset, only curious. “What, uh, what can I help you with?” he asks, one hand nervously twisting a silver ring around on his finger.

“I need to tell you something.” The words come out easier than Marinette is expecting. She thought she’d feel nervous in this moment. Thought she might want to puke or jumble all her words. But in reality she feels resolute. She needs to do this for her. Close this chapter so she can finally move on.

“Have you ever loved someone, even though you didn’t really know them? Like you had built them up in your head for so long, but in the end you would have never been able to play the song that was in their heart?”

For a moment, Adrien looks shocked and scared as if she’s hit some nerve he didn’t even really know he had. “I-“ he falters, looking at her helplessly.

“That’s how I felt about you,” she barrels forward.

And with that, he finally knows. His expression keeps morphing into various expressions of shock. He blushes and he stutters, like he’s unsure what to say. But that’s okay because she doesn’t really need him to say anything at all.

“I realize now,” she continues now, “how unfair that was of me.”

“Un-unfair?” he says, sounding slightly taken aback.

She smiles at him, taking in those handsome features. “I’ve really missed out on getting to know you as a true friend because of my silly crush.”

“Oh,” he says faintly.

“I just needed you to know how I felt and why I acted like I did and why it’s going to be different now. Better. Can we be friends, Adrien Agreste? Just friends?”

“I’ve always thought we were friends,” he admits sort of sheepishly, his face still pink but he’s smiling at her.

Marinette beams back, something finally settling in her heart.

* * *

That night, she transforms herself into Ladybug, letting the magic engulf her and give her strength. She catapults herself around for awhile, rooftop to rooftop, letting the familiar rush settle in. There would never be anything quite as exhilarating as this, flying high over her city.

Chat is right on time, as he always is, and starts vaulting alongside her. She leads them to the Eiffel Tower and they sit wordlessly side by side their feet dangling over the edge. She hasn’t seen him since the akuma and the tension between them is palpable. He wisely stays silent, reading her solemnness and waiting for her to speak first.

She takes in a deep breath and opens her mouth, knowing this isn’t going to be quite as easy as her talk with Adrien had been, but he interrupts quickly and unexpectedly. “I’m not going to like this am I?”

Her face falls and she presses her lips together, shaking her head.

Chat nods and she can almost feel him bracing himself beside her. It breaks her heart, just a little. “Chaton, I-I owe you an apology.“

He looks a little surprised by this. “No you don’t,” he says. “You were right about me being two distracted. I’m sorry I let you down, Ladybug. I’ll never forgive myself for almost letting Hawkmoth get his hands on you. On us.”

“I still shouldn’t have yelled at you like I did,” she insists quietly. “I lost my temper and hurt you in the process. I wasn’t a very good friend or partner that day. Can you forgive me?”

Chat smiles happily beside her. “I’ll always forgive you, my lady. There’s nothing you could do that will ever change that.”

Ladybug swallows, wondering if that will hold true after she breaks his heart. Looking out across the city, she blows out a nervous breath. “Chat,” she says softly. Something about the tone of her voice makes him tense. “I need to tell you something else and I don’t think you’re going to like it, but I need you to respect it if you truly love me like you say you do.”

“It’s that boy isn’t it?” he says, surprising her. “The one you told me you were in love with. He’s finally come to his senses.”

Ladybug snorts, “Not exactly, no. I, uhh, actually I’m not quite sure I ever really loved him at all. I barely knew him. I mean we’re friends, but his life is just so different to mine.”

Chat’s ears flick and he perks up a little. “Really? You-you don’t love him anymore.” Leave it to Chat to always latch on to any last bit of hope he can. That’s what always made this so hard.

“No, and I think,” she pauses, trying to choose her words carefully, “maybe that’s what it’s like for me and you.”

Chat stands then, looking visibly upset. “I do know you, Ladybug. We’re partners.”

“And I’d trust you with my life,” she affirms. She thinks back to Luka’s song, the one that had spoken to her soul, which had explored every facet of who she was. “But Ladybug is just one part of me Chat. I’m-I’m so much more than just Ladybug. There’s so much more to me than that.”

“I know,” Chat stresses, gabbing for her hand. “You won’t let me see all of you.”

Ladybug smiles sadly. “I don’t think you _want_ to see all of me, Chat. Even if you don’t realize it yet. I thought I was in love with someone, but once I really started looking, I realized I didn’t know that person at all. Not who they really were and well, then the fantasy was broken. Trust me Chat,” she says meeting, his eyes. “When someone really sees you, when someone really understands you. That feeling will be like nothing you’ve ever felt before. I can’t give you that any more than you could give it to me.”

Chat’s tail whips around agitatedly beside him and his hands ball up. Then he takes a breath and lets all the tension out of his body and slumps. “You’ve found someone that can though, haven’t you? Someone that can give you that?”

Swallowing down the lump in her throat all Ladybug can say is, “I’m sorry, Chat.”

His eyes close, against tears maybe, she’s not quite sure. Then he squeezes her hand. “I wish I could be the one to give you that. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t, but…I think I might understand.” He’s looking off into the night now, his mind obviously elsewhere as if he might be remembering something.

Ladybug squeezes back, her own eyes filling with tears. “That means the world to me, Chaton.”

* * *

She’s in love with Luka. The realization takes up every thought in her head as she swings back through Paris’ streets. She feels giddy with the feeling, light. Now that she’s finally sorted out her complicated feelings for Adrien and her even more complicated feelings for Chat, she lets herself fully bask in her feelings for Luka. Feelings that she has been pushing aside for weeks now, needing to have all the other chapters in her life closed before she felt truly ready to face them.

She’s anxious to get back to her room, to message him, to see him again. To let him know that she’s no longer confused. Whatever had happened with Ladybug could just be a little hiccup. After all, _Marinette_ didn’t have to know it had ever happened.

When she gets back to her balcony, she’s just about to drop her transformation when a voice clears startling her so badly that she knocks over one of her plants. Luka is there, looking at her solemnly. For just a moment, she’s absolutely elated to see him. Wants to throw her hands around his neck and hug him tight. Then she remembers that _once again_ , she’s still Ladybug and she bites her lip hard as her hand unconsciously makes its way to her yo-yo, the word _abort_ racing through her mind.

She stares at him wide-eyed and wild, wishing that the ground would swallow her up. Even in the dark she can just make out one of the bruises on his neck, peeking out under his hoodie. She stares at it, mouth gaping, trying to find words, excuses for why she is here on Marinette’s balcony before the realization hits that _he_ is also here on Marinette’s balcony. “What are you doing here,” she blurts out.

Luka looks as if he is choosing his words very, very carefully and finally he settles on, “I could ask the same of you.”

She wants to bite her tongue. Wants to swing off and just start everything that had happened the past few days all over again. There’s some kind of irony revolving around the words _second chance_ that might be funny one day but isn’t right now.

“Coming to see Marinette?” he asks, stepping closer. “Because I’m afraid she isn’t here. I’ve already tried.” Another step closer.

Her mouth feels thick and she grapples with some kind of excuse that will seem reasonably plausible. But something about his eyes make her think that he won’t believe her, no matter what she says. She’s entered a losing battle.

“Luka,” his name comes out on a breathy whisper.

“She wasn’t answering my messages,” he continues and Ladybug’s heart spasms, her eyes skipping to her bedroom. She sees her phone sitting on her desk. What had he been texting her, she wonders, while she had been gone resolving things with Chat?

“I wanted to come clean with Marinette. About what had happened,” he continues.

He is inches from her now. Practically in her space though he doesn’t touch her, doesn’t crowd her. She has room to escape if she wants to and something tells her that was intentional on Luka’s part.

“I thought,” Ladybug manages to say. “I thought you told me that you didn’t want Marinette to know.”

Luka chuckles softly, almost sadly. “See, something tells me that she already does.”

Her hands start shaking, her throat starts closing up. She tries to find words but can’t. Icy hot panic rushes down her spine and she convulses under his knowing gaze. Luka, steadying presence that he is, rests his hands lightly on her shoulders and says, “Breathe, Marinette.”

The breath she didn’t realize she had been holding comes out in a shuddering gasp, and then he is bringing her in, close to his chest and she grips that damn hoodie and begins crying into his shoulder. Everything finally coming out. He makes soft little shushing sounds, rubbing his hand comfortingly at the small of her back. “It’s okay. It’s okay.” She really wans to believe him. She really, really does.

Finally, when the world no longer feels like it is falling apart around her, she manages to extract herself just enough to meet his eyes. He cups her cheek, his thumb running at the edge where skin meets mask. “Of course it’s you under there,” he says like it is a simple fact of life.

“No one’s supposed to know,” she whispers miserably. There was no point in denying it now. “Luka, you _can’t_ know.”

“I know,” he says. “I know I can’t know, but I do. I have for awhile.”

Pulling back, Ladybug blinks at him. “A-awhile,” she stutters. “How long is _awhile_. You mean even when I-I-”

“Kissed me?” he guesses.

Ladybug buries her face into his hoodie, unable to look into those knowing eyes. She nods into his cheat and his hand makes another comforting sweep down her back. “Yeah, even-even then,” he confirms.

Marinette squeaks in embarrassment and Luka places his hands on her shoulders and pushes her gently backwards. “Will you look at me, Marinette? Please?”

Hesitantly, she lifts her eyes and is surprised to find guilt in his expression. “I’m sorry,” he says, once she is finally looking at him. She frowns a little.

“It’s not your fault. I was the one who was careless-this is all my fault-I should have been so much more careful. I know better than to use my miraculous for my own personal uses. I’ve-I’ve-“ She chokes on another shuddering breath as the words spill out of her mouth uncontrollably.

Luka shakes his head. “No-no, I’m not sorry that I know it’s you. I mean I’m sorry that I kissed you.”

Marinette doesn’t think her heart can wilt any further. At the look on her face, Luka lets out a frustrated noise. “I’m really not saying any of this right.”

His hands fret beside him and he looks at her once more. “Would you mind if-if you transformed back,” he says after a long moment. “I think I need to say this to Marinette not Ladybug.”

“We’re one in the same aren’t we?” she murmurs, but still lets her transformation fall with a soft, “Spots off.” Tikki quietly enters Marinette’s purse, giving them privacy.

Back in her civilian clothes, she feels way more raw and exposed. She slides her eyes away from his, finding her feet instead. “You might be one in the same,” he says carefully, his voice shaking. “But I fell in love with Marinette.”

Her eyes shine as she looks up at him, her lips parting in surprise. “I knew you were Ladybug,” he continues. “And I took advantage of that. I knew you were trying to work through your feelings in whatever way you needed to and if that meant visiting me as Ladybug then well, I was happy to help. Happy to see you. But then you kissed me, and I just-“ His hand find the back of his neck nervously and his cheeks redden. “I just wanted it so bad,” he admits on a whisper, ashamed.

“Luka,” is all she manages to say. Her face gets hot with the admission, her heart thumping hard, her hands sweating. That feeling he always invokes filling her from head to toe.

“I’m really sorry that I took advantage,” he finishes with a sad guilty downturn of the lips.

She thinks back to that night. She had assumed at the time that he’d felt guilty for betraying his love to Marinette. Now she knows that isn’t the case at all. He thinks he’d taken advantage of the situation. But isn’t that exactly what she’d been doing to him this whole time? And worse than that, he had known she was taking advantage and he’d let her do it. He had known that she was feeling out the waters as Ladybug and he’d been okay with that.

She laughs wetly, more tears filling her eyes. “I should be the one who is sorry,” she whispers, desperate to make him understand. “I took advantage of _you_ , Luka. I took advantage of your feelings because I liked how it made _me_ feel.”

Luka brings up his hand to push a piece of hair behind her ear. “Marinette, I think it’s abundantly clear that I’m perfectly happy to let you take advantage of me anytime you’d like. In whatever way you’d like.”

His words, so sincere, so honest, make her heart ache in the loveliest of ways. Without thinking about what she’s doing, she reaches her hand up to his neck, gently touching the small bruise peeking out at the collar. His eyes darken and he sighs under his breath. She knows he’s remembering it to. The heat and desperation of the moment. Her hands tremble. Without the mask and the suit she doesn’t feel the same easy confidence that had let her make this mark on his skin, but his words and the look in his eyes now is enough to embolden her nevertheless.

“Whatever way I’d like?” she repeats softly, clarifying.

There is so much they need to talk about. So much they have to figure out. Him knowing her identity is a huge problem and she knows that when Luka’s no longer here, Tikki is going to give her an earful. But right now all she can think about is that kiss. How she’d like to do it again without the confusion of the suit and mask ruining the moment.

Her words seem to have a visible impact on Luka. He shudders as she steps closer, her hands coming up to grip his hoodie and pull him in until there isn’t any space between their bodies.

Luka’s shaking hands settle in a familiar way on her waist and his eyes are looking at her in a questioning, unsure manner. She wants to wipe that look off his face. Wants him to forget about everything, but the feeling of her mouth on him.

With that thought she says as bravely as she can muster, “Will you kiss me, Luka?” She isn’t about to risk any more misunderstanding.

Luka nods dumbly, unable to form words. His fingers tighten reflexively on her waist and his head tilts meeting her mouth in the softest, sweetest kiss she’s ever felt. One of his hands moves up to cup her cheek and his mouth moves in an achingly tender way over hers. Then he’s pulling back with a smile, his eyes sparkling at her and a pleased look on his face.

Breathlessly, Marinette says, “That’s not how you kissed me the first time.”

He chuckles, his hand sliding from her cheek down to her neck in a way that ignites goose bumps all over her arms. “For one, you kissed me first,” he says. “As Ladybug, I’ll remind you. In that _suit_ no less. Second, you crawled into my lap first and you,” he emphasizes as her face turns redder and redder, “left me a lovely parting gift that’s not been very easy to hide.” He pinches her neck lightly as if to remind her.

Her eyes land on those marks again and she bites her lips. “Would it be bad if I said…I kind of like them?”

Luka looks shocked for the briefest of moments before his lips are at his ear. “I don’t think you could possibly like them as much as I like them, Mari.”

She whimpers at his hot breath on her ear and then coaxes his face back to hers into a proper kiss this time.

Tomorrow. They’ll figure everything else out tomorrow. Tonight all she wants is _this_.


End file.
